French Heraldry: National Characteristics

The heraldry of each country has certain peculiar rules and customs,
as well as a certain flavor. This page tries to convey some of these national
characteristics.

France is one of the places where heraldry began, and the language of
heraldry can be said to be French. In style and habits, French heraldry
is close to English or German heraldry. There are some peculiarities, however:

Titles and Coronets

The usual order of precedence in 17th and 18th c. France was roughly as follows:

Roi : closed crown of fleurs-de-lis (the crown was open until
the early 16th century).

Dauphin, or heir apparent: initially an open crown of fleurs-de-lis;
starting with Henri IV's son (1601-10), the crown is closed with dolphins
instead of arches.

fils et petit-fils de France: children and grand-children of
a sovereign: open coronet of fleurs-de-lis.

Prince du Sang, prince of
the royal blood (descended in male line from a sovereign): first a
coronet alternating fleurs-de-lis and acanthus leaves (called strawberry
leaves in English blazon), e.g.,
on François de Montpensier's coinage in Dombes, ca. 1575. In the
17th and 18th c. they used a coronet of fleurs-de-lis like the enfants
de France. The legitimized
princes (descended from legitimized children of sovereigns) ranked
immediately after the princes of the blood (from 1694 to 1717 and
from 1723 onward), and were given the same coronet.

pair de France (Peer of the Realm):
a coronet of the title (usually duke) with a crimson velvet cap, a mantle
armoyé (reproducing the arms) fringed with gold and lined with ermine.

duc (duke): a coronet of acanthus leaves.

marquis (marquis): a coronet of alternating acanthus leaves
and groups of three pearls in trefoil (or two pearls side by side in some
versions).

vidame: a peculiar French title, for protectors of the temporal
estates of a bishopric; a small coronet with 4 crosses (3 visible).

baron: a circle of gold wreathed with a string of small pearls.

chevalier (knight): no coronet, but a helm.

écuyer (squire): no coronet, but a helm. Helms were
reserved for nobles, titled or untitled, by 16th c. regulations that were
universally ignored. In principle, a helm without coronet indicated an
untitled noble, chevalier or écuyer (on this distinction,
see a discussion of the French nobility).

This hierarchy, which is identical for non-royal titles to the British
hierarchy of peers, should not be taken as seriously as the latter. In particular,
title was not a good indication of actual preeminence
or importance. Ancestry, marriages, distinguished service, high office
counted for a lot more than the actual title. Some very
old families had the title of count, or even baron, but were proud of their
ancient origin. As an example, the title of marquis
ranks in principle immediately after duke, but was so ridiculed by the late
18th century (cf. the phrase "petit marquis" meaning a presumptuous and
vain person) that Napoleon omitted it from his own scale of titles.
It should also be noted that, in the 17th and 18th centuries,
people assumed and used freely coronets of ranks they did not have; and,
in the 19th and 20th centuries, great abuse has been made of "courtesy
titles".

The only title that was never usurped under the Old Regime,
and rarely without some semi-excuse afterwards, was the title of duc.
As a result, the title of duc was clearly at the top of the scale
after the royal family and foreign princes, and a cut above all other nobility.

Prince: this was not a
title in Old Regime France, but a rank, hence there was no coronet.

Supporters

Supporters ere never strongly associated with any rank or
title. They are rather less common than in other countries like Britain
or Germany (for example, although the French royal
arms have angels as supporters, they are not frequently depicted except
in full-page achievements).

Mottoes

French heraldry is fond of mottoes, and some families
even have two: the motto (devise) and the "cri d'arme" a war-cry.
The motto can be personal or familial. It can be in French, medieval French,
Latin or even Greek.

Crests

Crests are rare in modern (i.e., 15th c. and later)
French heraldry. The typical ornaments above a shield will be a helm (for
nobles), lambrequins, and a coronet when applicable. Family badges are
also rare, although personal badges were common among kings and high nobility
in the 15th and early 16th centuries.

The main ones under the Old Regime were the Ordre de Saint-Michel
(created in the 15th c. by Louis XI) and the Ordre du Saint-Esprit
(Holy Ghost), created in 1578 with a limit of 100 on the number of knights:
it was the most prestigious order in France, usually forbidden to foreigners
(but the Spanish Borbons were often made knights in the 18th c.). Both
were abolished in 1789, recreated in 1815 and abolished in 1830. A recipient
of the Saint-Esprit always received Saint-Michel at the same time (they
were collectively known as les ordres du Roi) though the converse
was not true, of course. There was no requirement of nobility for Saint-Michel,
but there were stringent ones for Saint-Esprit. The pendant of the Saint-Esprit
was a Maltese cross azure, bordered argent, with a dove displayed pointing
downward, and fleurs-de-lis between the branches of the cross. The necklace
is made of alternating elements all shown surrounded by flames: the letter
H surrounded by royal crowns (for Henri III, founder), a fleur-de-lis,
and a military trophy. The sash of the Saint-Esprit was blue, and it was
called in French le cordon bleu, though how the expression came
to mean a first-rate cook I do not know. The pendant of Saint-Michel shows
Saint Michael defeating the devil, and the necklace is made of SSS and
shells.

A minor order is the Order of Saint-Lazare: created in 1125 in Palestine,
it had found refuge in France after the fall of the Latin states and decayed
into oblivion, when in 1608 Henri IV decided to commemorate his conversion
to Catholicism by uniting it to the Order of Notre Dame du Mont Carmel
and giving it new life. It was abolished in 1791. Eight generations of
nobility were required.

There are also military orders, the main ones being Saint-Louis, created
by Louis XIV in 1693 and abolished in 1830, and the Legion of Honor (created
by Napoleon in 1802). The order of Saint-Louis had a red ribbon, several
ranks of knights, and was clearly the model for the Legion of Honor. An
edict of 1750 prescribed that three consecutive generations of recipients
of the order of Saint-Louis brought nobility. The Legion of Honor has the
same feature. The military orders are shown hanging below the shield.

This is perhaps
the only domain where heraldry is still alive in France, though perhaps
not as vibrant as in Germany. All major cities and even many villages have
coats of arms, oftentimes displayed on street signs and on municipal buildings.
A mural crown distinguishes city arms. Medals or insignia of military orders
are granted to cities and proudly displayed on coats of arms (Paris has
a couple for its fight against the Germans in 1944; the most decorated
French city is Verdun). Many French cities have royal augmentations in
the form of a chief of France (Paris being an example). The chief with
its color azure often violates the rule of tincture,
though French heraldry gets around this by saying that it is cousu.